


Fragments

by MoimoiSweden



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Cute, Eren Has Anger Issues, Fluff, Hugs, If someone laughs at this I'll be proud of myself, Love Confessions, M/M, Tea, Tea Shop Owner Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), kind of, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 22:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13374567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoimoiSweden/pseuds/MoimoiSweden
Summary: Eren just wants to be calm for once in his life. He finds that a certain tea shop and its owner help him a lot with that.





	Fragments

**Author's Note:**

> Just this small one shot I made impulsive when drinking tea. Seriously though this was written in like a really short time and probably has some random mistakes here and there (which I'll fix eventually when I don't need to go to bed), but I do hope you enjoy this little thing. I think it did turn out quite cute though not exactly well planned. That's it for rambling!

It was because of his adopted sister Mikasa that Eren decided that he wanted to try tea. She seemed to just breath in the scent and she would calm down. That intrigued him enough for him to wonder if tea was actually good. To him it had always seemed like a waste of plants, money and energy to be honest. He didn't want to buy expensive ass leaves to put them in some hot water and get some weird tasting concoction. Sometimes the scent wasn't even that good although regardless of the scent, Mikasa seemed to enjoy her tea anyway. She had tried to make Eren drink it for years and Eren had by now made up plethora of reasons why he didn't want to try it. Since he had those _very valid_ reasons he hadn't tried the thing before then he didn't want to try it now either, no matter how much it might calm his anger and frustration down.

But that's just it.

His therapist had told him that the brunette had to find better ways to get those two feelings either under control or just completely out of his system. Apparently punching douchebags wasn't a proper coping system, though Eren found it extremely satisfying. He had already tried a lot of things like knitting or going to the gym in to beat a bag and lift some weights. He started running both in the morning and in the evening. Those things helped to a degree, especially for his stress induced anger that came when too many things were piled on his plate, but they weren't helping that sudden angry frustration that creeped up on him for no reason. It was the worst one of his issues so far and he had yet to find a working solution for it. He didn't want to find himself in prison for some anger issues. He had had enough of sleeping a night in jail and getting Mikasa to bail him out in the morning. He had enough of a therapist who couldn't do jackshit to help him. He wanted something that could calm him down when he needed it instead of just trying to run it of in the evening or in the morning or beating into a bag that hadn't done anything to deserve his anger. He didn't want to yell at his friends when he got stressed, because they were just trying to be helpful. He didn't want to fight with Jean just because he was a dick, because he was _always_ going to be a dick and Eren didn't want to spend his energy on a stupid wanker like him.

Yet Eren was a determined, bull headed asshole who wouldn't back down when he had already decided something and he had already decided that he would _not_ try tea. It was overrated anyway. Despite his feelings, he learned that it wasn't always about is feelings, but about his friends’. It was on one particular morning that he woke up angry. It must have been a dream about his father or something else just as spectacular as that. So he got up on the wrong foot. He had learned to recognize when he deflected and when he had started to mirror the anger and his own faults onto others, so before Mikasa had even gotten a word out of her mouth Eren was out the door to take his morning run before he would be angry at Mikasa for something as insignificant as not getting the mail yesterday or anything equally stupid. He ran for a long time. He didn't stop to drink water or pet a dog like he usually did. He just tried to pour his anger into his muscles and from there into energy and that way out of his body. The run was exhausting and normally it would have dampened the boiling anger under his skin, but this time it didn't. He stepped back into the apartment sweaty and tired and _still_ angry. He knew from that moment that his day was ruined, because it always was when he couldn't wash out the anger. He wasn’t being pessimistic per se. He just had had enough of mornings like these to know that it wouldn't get any better from this. And it certainly didn't. After he'd taken a shower, he had a fight with Mikasa who left him alone with the sound of a slammed door echoing in the apartment. After that he failed a test at his college - It was just a surprise quiz, but everything mattered - and then he got soaked through his clothes by water that came from a hose that was being held by none other than Jean fucking Kirschtein who had been the bane of his fucking existence since he galloped into his life. Not only did the fucking dickbag soak Eren, he destroyed his hand written essay that marked sixty percent of his grade on one of his hardest classes. Eren knew it wouldn't do him any good to punch him. It might make him feel better for a while, but it wouldn't make the day any better and in the end his friends would just give him dirty looks and he'd regret it afterwards, but he couldn't stop himself. The day had been shit from the beginning, making it even shittier wouldn’t make a difference.

He broke Jean’s nose.

As Marco was dragging Jean a way from Eren towards his car to take the horseface into the hospital, Eren had been left standing there wet to the bones, ruined ten page essay crumbled in his hand. Marco, who never ever had anything against anyone, had given him disappointed, angry look. As if it had been his fault that Jean asked for it. They didn't even let him explain his outburst. The anger still boiled under his skin, but he was also tired and dejected. He was so done with this damn day. He should have stayed in bed instead of trying to live through it, because he knew it would be like this.

He stared at his papers morosely and started dragging his feet back home. He didn't _really_ want to go there. Mikasa would be there. She would try to ask what's wrong when in actuality nothing was wrong and Eren was just pissed without any clue why. She would try to talk to him when all he wanted was to lock himself into his room and wake up the next morning feeling happy again. He just wanted to forget this day ever happened. He took the longest detour he could so he didn't have to go through her interrogation just yet.

He stopped suddenly when a sweet scent reached his nose. He looked up to see he was standing next to tea shop. A small, hole in the wall tea shop. He stared at it like it was a beacon of light guiding him through this dark day. He knew what he said about tea being stupid. He knew what he said about tea not being for him. He knew how adamantly he was against trying it. _Still_ , he didn't care any of that right now. He just wanted the anger to go away so he could apologize to Jean and Mikasa and beg for more time on the essay from him literature teacher without causing another fight with anyone. He wanted to be a good friend who didn't get pissed all the time. He just wanted to be relaxed once in his damn life and not have this shimmer of anger ready to get fired up with one wrong word or look. Right now he didn't care what it was that calmed him down as long as something _did_.

So he stepped in, clothes still a bit damp, but not dripping water anymore. He looked around in wonder as deep forest greens and earthy browns surrounded him with the mix of different scent of teas. There were cans of tea everywhere. He recognized some of them. For example Mikasa had really taken a liking to matcha lately though Eren didn't really care for it. He had liked the blacks and oolongs much better. She had always liked green tea a lot more than the others and Eren didn’t like it at all to be honest. Not that he particularly liked _any_ tea Mikasa made. The mahogany tables catches his eye after the teas. They were shining with cleanliness - in fact the whole place was sparkling clean - and Eren felt a bit bad that he was dragging in dirt. The air was peaceful and the scents calming. He felt the anger begin to ebb away just a bit.

“Hey, brat, do you want something?” a voice from behind him said.

Eren whipped around and found himself in the presence of a dark haired raven with a green apron and a menacing glare. He was scary as all hell, but Eren couldn't turn his eyes away, because despite the dark glare his eyes were the most beautiful gunmetal grey. To be honest even with something more traditional as his eye colour the man would have still been absolutely gorgeous. He was short, but he compensated it by having muscles and a commandeering presence. It felt like he was taller than despite it not being so. His hair was styled in an undercut, but it was a bit overgrown and his face was framed by his long bangs that were parted in the middle. He was wearing a white button up and he had rolled his sleeves up. Eren could see tattoos on his skin though he couldn't discern what they were yet. His muscular legs were covered by the most wonderfully tight, black jeans. Eren couldn't help, but admire the man's beauty.

“-hey! Earth to brat?” the man called and brought him back from the clouds.

“Ah, sorry.” Eren blinked, willing his legs to move him to the counter. “I would like some tea.”

The man looked at him as if he were stupid.

“This is a tea shop, kid. You need to be a bit more fucking specific than that.” He said lifting his eyebrow.

Eren furrowed his brows in though. He had no clue about teas much less what he would like. He gripped the soiled essay a bit tighter in his hand as he nervously looked around the tea shop to get an idea - _any idea_ \- to what he could get. The man looked at him impatiently. Eren anxiously looked back at the man.

“Anything other than green is fine, really.”

The man frowned in annoyance.

“You don't really like tea, do you.” he asked in low, velvety voice.

It was clearly a statement, not a question, but Eren answered anyway.

“I've never drank it before.” Eren muttered. “Oh, but I did _taste_ the leaves one time. They weren't that good and didn't seem to have much nutrients in them either.”

The man looked downright horrified at his confession and Eren was a bit taken aback by the amount of emotion going through his eyes while his face just stayed in one of stoic horror. Then the man turned around muttering something about idiots and kids who didn't have brains. The brunette stood still waiting in anticipation for what he was going to do. Eren cocked his head as he turned around again several minutes later and set a cup down on the counter.

“Taste it. I’ll tweak on it if you feel like it should be sweeter or more mellow.” The man said exparated.

Eren looked at the tea. It looked nothing like the tea Mikasa made at home. It had a light light orange colour and it obviously had milk in it. Eren picked it up cautiously and sniffed at it. It smelled like peaches and sweetness. The anger washed away with it. He glanced surprised at the grumpy guy who was looking back almost expectantly. Eren glanced back at the tea and put the cup on his lips. Slowly tipping the cup the warm liquid ran over his tongue and he sweared he fell in love with it. It tasted a lot like it smelled like. It was mellow yet had just enough flavour. Most of all it induced tranquility. Eren felt his eyes close. It was everything Eren needed at that moment. He felt his body relax into the warmth and taste of the tea and the man looked quite pleased with himself when Eren opened his eyes again.

“Good?”

Eren nodded meekly, smiling a bit as he continued drinking his beverage. The man smirked satisfied as he rang up the tea. Eren gave him a five and told him to keep the rest. It was a lot more than the man had asked, but Eren insisted as he was a lot more work than his normal customers probably were. The boy left with his paper cup of tea and walked slowly towards home. He savoured the tea and only throwing the cup away when he arrived at the apartment complex. He made sure he put the name of the tea shop in his phone so he could visit again.

The next day he grabbed a travel mug for hot beverages from his cabinet as he left for school. His mood wasn't as bad as it was the day before, but it wasn't what it was after having tea yesterday either. He had taken his run and it had helped a bit, but if he had to deal with Jean and stressful school shit he would need some reinforcement. So he left early from his house and walked to the tea shop. His classes only started after twelve, but he wanted to get some of the essay done before talking to the teacher. He had worked on it after he had gotten home, but he had only gotten three pages done. He had the destroyed essay with him to show that _yes he had done it once and yes it really was destroyed_. He stepped into the tea shop and found the cashier cleaning the small shop. He eyes him curiously, though it soon turned into embarrassment as he catched an eyeful of his ass. It was an amazing ass,  but Eren didn’t come here to check the man out. He came here for the great tea and the effect it had on him. Eren cleared his throat to get the man's attention. The man straightened and turned to him.

“Back so soon, brat?” the man had a blank slate as a face, but something I'm in his posture and voice said that he was amused.

That made the brunette relax a bit.

“Yeah. Uh, do you think I could stay here and work for a little while?”

The man furrowed his brows and walked behind the counter.

“As long as you order something.”

“Well…”

The man huffed as Eren looked around himself again. He cut the boy off before he could get too nervous about not knowing what to ask for.

“Anything but green?”

Eren nodded sheepishly and the man got to work. Soon there was a cup of black tea in front of him. He was sure that it was black tea, but it felt like it was different from the black tea Mikasa had once stinked up their apartment with. He took the cup and paid the man. He was just about to turn to the tables when he catched the man's eye again. The cashier lifted his brow as if waiting for Eren to ask whatever it was that he wanted from him.

“Uhh… What's your name?” Eren asked hands tightening around the cup. “I'm Eren.”

The silence stretched, but Eren stared at the man fidgeting. The man was obviously pondering if he should give the boy his name. He didn't have a name tag, so he must be very private. Eventually the man opened his mouth.

“Levi.” He said and Eren grinned.

He nodded and finally went to sit. He took out his pencil, notes and the empty pages he needed to fill. He worked until eleven, knowing he would need to catch Jean before his class started. He packed up and noticed the man - _Levi_ , he reminded himself - was boredly staring out of the shop’s window. He walked to the counter and the man slowly turned to him.

“What do you need, brat?”

“Something calming.” Eren fidgeted as he said it, lifting the the travel mug with his hands. “If you could, um, put it into this I would be grateful.”

Levi eyed the mug, but snatched it from Eren's hands and started working on the tea. He glanced at Eren from time to time as if thinking that Eren would just walk out, but he didn't really mind waiting. The tea shop was a nice place where his emotions just chilled out for a while. It was nice to not be angry for once. Levi set his travel mug on the counter after several minutes and Eren thanked him with a smile. He gave him a generous tip with the payment and headed out.

Jean was angry and Eren didn't blame him. Even if he did think Jean was asking for it, he only apologised and didn't fight with him even when he yelled at him angrily for good fifteen minutes. Every time he felt anger boil inside him he sipped his tea and it dispelled into thin air. He wondered if that made him look like an asshole. In any case Jean eventually got tired of yelling at him and he stomped away. Eren stared at the horse before shrugging and heading to class. He was a bit afraid of what the teacher would say, but he was nice enough about the whole mess when Eren showed him the old ten pages and explained what had happened. He was even more pleasant when Eren showed him the first half of the new ten pages he had already written. Eren got more extra time than he had hoped. He wondered if Levi was some kind of secret charm that made everything work out better. Well, Jean hadn't forgiven him, but he brunette  _had_ apologised, so he wasn't to blame if their friendship didn't return to the way it had been. Marco had smiled at him when he had walked past him in the hallway at least. That was good enough for Eren. He didn't go back to the tea shop again that day, but he added visiting it in the morning into the schedule.

“Why the hell would you try to eat tea leaves?” Levi had asked one day.

He still seemed rather weirded out with what Eren had done if not a bit curious.

“They looked like cooked spinach all curled open liked that.” Eren shrugged as he sipped his tea, wondering if it really bothered Levi that much.

He had noticed Levi didn't have many customers. In fact most only came to _buy_ tea leaves, not to get it made for them. Eren had no idea how to make tea like Levi did though, so he kept ordering it instead of buying the actual leaves. Levi didn't seem to mind his presence. He stopped being surprised by his visits after the first week. A month later the man even sat with him at the table of Eren’s choosing. He brewed himself his own cup of tea and the two sat together in comfortable silence at most times. Sometimes they did talk though. In fact that day - two months since Eren started going there - was one of those days.

“Don't you ever want to learn how to brew you own tea?”

Eren lifted his head and looked from his tea into Levi’s silver eyes. First the question about the tea leaves and now this. Levi was unusually talkative that day. Eren shook his head, his brown hair whipping wildly with the movement before flopping back downas Eren stopped. It was still mess, though.

“I like your tea.” Eren answered wistfully. “You somehow know how to make it just the way I need it.”

Levi cocked his head.

“And if I suddenly die?”

Eren furrowed his brows.

“I guess I would need to go back to beating people up to get rid of my anger.” Eren stated confused. “Why? Are you terminally ill?”

Levi snorted amused. Eren had learned to recognise all the small huffs and puffs Levi makes. They are terribly cute and they always makes him want to shower Levi with kisses. Especially when that small sound is accompanied by a gentle smile like the one Levi is wearing now as his hand curl tighter around his warm tea cup to warm his cold fingers. Eren has also found out that Levi has bad circulation and the tips of his fingers are often a bit bluish, especially now that it's winter. That makes him want to hold his hand. Apparently his body is rather high in heat so he wouldn't mind sharing some of it with Levi.

“No. Just wondering.” Levi said still smiling.

His eyes staring into the cup as if it was sharing the secrets of the universe with him.

“Good. If I were to lose you I’d cry.” Eren muttered honestly, not even wanting to think about his life without Levi too deeply.

The feelings that had slowly grown in him towards Levi past these two months were strong and something he couldn't quite control. They slipped out from between his lips in small doses, not quite using the right words, but they were obvious enough if someone were to look closely enough. He felt better when he was with Levi and although his life had gradually found a balance with the calming effects of the tea Levi brewed him, he still felt that if it was anyone else that brewed his tea, he wouldn't probably like it. He had once tried Starbucks and their tea was awful. Then again Levi said that the tea at Starbucks was like it came straight from Satan’s ass. Eren didn't argue with him on that.

“You gotten pretty attached to an old man keeping a tea shop, brat.” Levi said as he sipped his tea.

He eyed Eren as the boy blushed.

“I wouldn't call it _being attached_. More like you're good company…” Eren trailed of as he stared at the table, cheeks still red as a ripe apple.

“Never has anyone ever told me that I'm good company.” Levi mused and set his cup down on the table.

It was now empty. Eren wondered if the man would now go back to work. He sometimes did. Sometimes he just sat there until Eren had to leave. When Levi leaned back Eren knew he would stay where he was for a while longer. It shouldn't have made Eren smile as much as it did. Eren must have said something right if Levi wanted to stay with him. He leaned to the table, if to be just a bit closer to the man he had feelings for. Eren couldn't look into Levi’s eyes right now when he was still blushing, so he stared at his arms instead. His sleeves were rolled up again, his tattoos on display. They continued up his arm to his upper body, most likely. Eren couldn't see those on his torso, but the ones on his right arm were magnolias and sparrows. On his left arm he had a dragon. Eren wondered if these had some kind of meaning to him. He wanted to know what they mean. He wanted to know if he was right about there being more tattoos than those on his arms.

“I think you underestimate your charm.” Eren whispered, but Levi could easily hear it in the silence of the tea shop. “You _are_ frightening at first, but you are also some with charisma and kindness despite being a bit crude.”

Crude indeed. Eren had come to realise Levi had a weird sense humour and he cursed quite a lot for a tea shop owner. If you added that to his scary demeanour, one would hightail out of there quite quickly. That is probably why Levi didn't have as much customers as other tea shops did. If you looked under that, though, you find someone who _cared_ about the work he did and who wanted you to enjoy your drink. Levi wanted his customers to have a great experience with their tea even if he himself wasn't the most approachable person. There was kindness in him that there wasn't in many others.

Levi eyed him, brows going into a frown. Eren finally lifted his eyes into Levi’s and he saw something there that had been hidden before: _affection_. His hand moved from where they had been crossed over his chest and the right one with the flowers and sparrows set on Eren’s cheek. The brunette felt his eyes widen, but he didn't dare move in case Levi would end the touch right then and there. When Levi’s brows relaxed a bit and his thumb smoothed over Eren’s than skin, the boy finally gave in to the feeling and leaned into the touch. He closed his eyes just enjoying the cool touch. He wished they could have stayed like that longer, but one of those rare customers stepped in asking for matcha. Levi moved away to go help her find the perfect one. Eren missed the touch that instant, but it became pure torture when he had to go home.

From that point on things changed. Levi would give him feather light touches and Eren would enjoy them for that fleeting moment they were there. They would still sit together - opposite of each other in the darkest back corner of the shop - but their feet would tangle together under the table. Sometimes if Levi was in particularly good mood, he would hold Eren’s hand in his as they talked about unimportant things. Eren would talk about his friends and family and Levi would sometimes share something about his friends. Eren guessed his family was gone, because he never spoke of them. When they talked, he usually spoke more than Levi, but he didn't mind. It was enough that the older man was with him. He didn't care that they didn't have a label or that they hadn't confirmed what they felt for each other. All he cared about was that Levi got that gentle, loving look - the same look Eren held for him - in his eye when he saw the younger man. But maybe the fact that he wasn't exactly sure what they were, was the reason why he hadn't said anything to any of his friends or family. He wasn't ashamed of this relationship he had. He wasn't even embarrassed that he had given up on fighting against tea. He just knew Mikasa and he knew his friends. He didn't want anything to ruin this. Not when he was finally content. So when one day Mikasa asked why he had been so happy lately he acted like he had no idea what she was talking about.

“I just _am_.” Eren had shrugged nonchalantly.

Mikasa had frowned him, but Eren hadn't budged. He just kept making them dinner as if she hadn't been glaring at him for lying. He had always been a bad liar. His friends kept bothering him from that point on. Eren guessed she must have made them her allies to find out what he had been up to. He kept avoiding them like plague, escaping just barely from their hands and hiding in the tea shop. They all though he hated tea, so they wouldn’t try to look for him there at least. He tried acting happy to Levi, but even his tea wouldn't help his feelings of fear when it came to losing Levi. It went on for weeks until one rainy day Eren cracked and found himself crying in the doorstep of the tea shop. Levi looked at him shocked as he crouched into the floor tears streaming down his face. His sobs broke the calm of the shop. Levi jumped over the counter and came to him kneeling onto the dirty floor in front him, hand on his shoulders. Eren didn't think Levi would have done that, the man had an immense dislike for dirt. Yet there he was on the dirty floor with Eren coaxing him to look at him, to tell him what was wrong. Eren didn’t want to to be honest. It sounded so childish. It wasn't something to cry about. But the worry in Levi’s eyes made him spill everything in a wail of awkwardly worded sentences that might have not made sense to anyone else but him. Yet Levi didn't let go. He just held him tighter. He held him as if every immature word from his mouth was fine. When his string of words about not knowing what to tell to his friends and not knowing what they actually were eventually turned back into sobs and streaming tears Levi hugged his rain soaked, cold and shivering body like it wasn't just that.

“I'll be whatever you want me to be.” Levi whispered into his neck desperately, his hold tightening around the brunette. “Your secret, your friend, your cashier, your lover, whatever it is you want me to be, I’ll be. As long as I can stay by your side and love you then I don't care what you tell about us to your friends and your sister.”

Eren pulled out of Levi’s hold and stared into Levi's glistening gunmetal eyes. He lifted his shaking fingers onto the pale face slightly brushing away some of the coal black hair. The younger swallowed thickly as he watched the affection - _love_ \- swirl in those eyes he fell for the moment he saw them. He didn't know why he had waited for such a long time and kept these emotions and words inside him, but there he was on the floor of a tea shop with the man who accepted him unconditionally and he was still afraid. He guessed something as deep as this should make one afraid, but he knew he didn't need to be afraid alone. His lips trembled as he finally let the words fall from between his lips.

“I love you too.”

The words could barely be heard over the drumming of the rain, but Levi smiled - _really smiled_ \- and Eren sweared he had never seen anything more beautiful as Levi in that moment. It was as if his whole world was in his fingertips and he was scared of it falling apart, but Levi leaned in and set their foreheads together and all the fear dissipated into thin air. He didn't need to feel scared because Levi was there next to him keeping him intact. He would make sure all would fall in place. Eren’s hand fell onto Levi's chest and under his fingers he could feel the beating of his heart. It was in the same beat as his. They were like missing fragments of each other that found the way to each other. His hand tightened around his chest and he let himself do what he had wished to do for months.

Eren finally kissed Levi.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So that's that. Eren went from anger issues to fear problems in two months, but Levi's there to keep him together. Later after curling and more kissing Eren introduces his beautiful lover to his sister and friends. :)  
> I hoped you liked this little piece.  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> On another note, for anyone who is still waiting for the epilogue for Path as a Parent: I am actually working on it even though it's like three years late. I will get it done eventually, so please be patient. It did end nicely even without epilogue, but I promised an epilogue so I will do one God Dammit.  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> UNTIL NEXT TIME!!! \\(°♡°)/


End file.
